


Ethereal

by acetotheworld_1125



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: 97-line, Crush at First Sight, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, I have no regrets, I love the 97-liners, Like really slow, M/M, My First AO3 Post, Slow Burn, but it is actually mutual, hope you'll still read my word vomit, if you can't tell Rocky is my bias, like all of them - Freeform, my schedules are killing me, oh did I just spoil the whole thing, one-sided angst in the beginning, probably irregular posts, shy rocky, so much fluff you have no idea, will update tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:00:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23375776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acetotheworld_1125/pseuds/acetotheworld_1125
Summary: Park Minhyuk, aka Rocky of Astro, falls for the ethereal boy a little bit more every single day.
Relationships: Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo & Moon Bin, Lee Dongmin | Cha Eunwoo/Park Minhyuk | Rocky
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. Ethereal

Eunwoo hyung is, for lack of a better word, ethereal.

Being hailed as “a literal rock” in terms of emotional stability and overall status by fans and members alike, Rocky should be accustomed to pretending likewise. However, Park Minhyuk, a 21 year old guy with a not-so-well-hidden crush on a certain someone in his group, was not.

 _The world has never been fair to me,_ Rocky thought to himself, _why would it start now?_ Years ago, the young dancer was introduced to a boy blessed with such heavenly looks that he rivaled the angels for his charm, yet, coupled with an unassumingly timid disposition, he captured countless hearts without ever noticing. Call Rocky a walking cliché if you will, but as soon as he laid eyes on the enrapturing boy, he harbored a crush so intense that he sort of blanked out whenever he and “Dongmin-ssi” would stay in the same room. He did not know the handsome fellow trainee well then, but heard lots from others in the company gossiping about how he was already destined for the actor career despite his short training period. He must be a natural, Rocky remembered musing to himself upon hearing how the much-acclaimed boy had impressed his trainers with skills ahead of all his peers, blushing furiously at the mere mental image of the promising fledgling actor.

That was more than six years ago, when he and some of the senior trainees had only contemplated the possibility of debut in their few-and-far-between breaks in the practice rooms, dreaming about the hypothetical big break that no one seemed to be getting any closer to in real life. The ethereal boy lingered at the forefront of his normally fully occupied mind for days, eventually giving way to other, more pressing issues such as vocal lessons and dance practices.

So imagine his surprise when, a handful of months later, he saw the familiar face again when being summoned to the company meeting room for discussions regarding the future boy group debut. He was arguably less surprised that he was one of the selected boys than the fact that Cha Eunwoo, once “Dongmin-ssi” to him, was to debut with the other five boys. To be completely honest, most trainees in the company had a faint inkling of who was favored to take the desired spots of the six members of the new idol group Fantagio was putting out, Rocky, with his killer dance moves and choreography talents, was one of the most indisputable ones along with Moonbin, the deceptively baby-faced senior trainee with legit abs and more training years under his belt than others; Jinwoo, or Jinjin, the petite rapper with overflowing big brother vibes that all younger trainees were drawn to; Myungjin, or MJ, the happy-go-lucky boy with out-of-this-world vocals that looked younger than Rocky himself despite being older by five years; last, Sanha, though a literal baby at that time, had quickly risen in recognition among trainers for his balanced talents and natural cutie charms that none can resist.

However, seeing the gorgeous face inside the plain white meeting room for the first time startled Rocky more than anything could, the boy having never expected the ever-mysterious trainee to be in such proximity. Despite the visible lack of makeup and adornments, Eunwoo still looked unfairly good, skin smooth and eyes sparkling with an inner light no one else seemed to possess. Rocky didn’t notice himself halting in the doorway, instead so transfixed by Eunwoo’s features that he failed to register the expressions of the remaining four in his company.

Eyes decisively amused, Jinwoo and Myungjin exchanged meaningful glances unbeknownst of Rocky and the subject of his scrutiny. The loud clearing of a throat seemed to snap the dancer out of his stupor, resulting in him turning a pretty shade of pink at his fellow members’ curved mouths. The universe is really out to get him, he thought sullenly.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Six years later: Present

With his hair sticking out in dozens of different directions, Rocky stumbled over his own feet on his way to the communal bathroom to freshen up before the morning schedule. Muttering under his breath while trudging with his head bowed towards the ground, he somehow missed the figure emerging from the doors of his destination, and ended up bumping straight into the tall stature of his favorite hyung. Now fully awake, the younger stared up into the depthless eyes of one Cha Eunwoo, cheeks flaming with the realization that, yes, he was just as infatuated with the group visual as ever. He might not be the naïve little boy six years ago with a crush on the most good-looking person on the planet, but now that he had gotten real, close-up contact with the older singer, he fell just a little deeper in love every day. He wrenched his gaze away from the mesmerizing sight with immense difficulty, squeaked out a good morning, and fled to the sanctuary that was the bathroom of their dorm.

Once safely inside the confines of the space still warm from the bath Eunwoo no doubt took only moments ago, Rocky breathed in shakily, burying his head in his hands to gain some semblance of calm. He wasn’t one to be this weak for the other’s presence, for he had more than enough years building up immunity against such heart attack-inducing beauty. Anyway, it took him by surprise this morning, and eliciting a bigger response was only to be expected, he reasoned with himself. But then he breathed in the clean, “unscented” smell that apparently is unique to his Eunwoo hyung, and his heart stuttered in his chest once more. So, so weak, he berated himself to no avail.

After a refreshing shower and a cold splash of water in his face, Rocky deemed himself composed (or close enough) and ready to face the world again.

Spoiler alert: He was definitely not.

Seeing his Eunwoo hyung all wrapped up in an oversize hoodie holding a cup of hot coffee with both hands sent warm currents running through his overly fond heart. The singer might have a commanding presence on the stage with his excellent figure and gorgeous face, but in daily life, he was as soft as a marshmallow, emitting adorable vibes that just made Rocky want to give him the tightest hug ever. In moments like this, it was all he could do to restrain himself from going directly to the person who had occupied a significant part of his mind since teenage years. Instead, he sat down at the dining table, waiting patiently for the hyung line to finish making their breakfast. The scene held a certain feeling of domesticity to it, seeing his closest companions fix up a meal in their own clumsy way melted his heart somehow, and Rocky cursed himself for being so soft in the early morning.

The car ride minutes later saw the younger dancer with his head drooping towards the right, bobbing to the vehicle’s movements. A gentle hand nudged it closer to the shoulder of its owner, finally giving peace to the slumbering figure.

When Rocky finally came to half an hour later, it was to a subtle smile on Eunwoo’s lips as he reclined brazenly on the elder’s torso. Blinking rapidly to clear out the remaining haze of sleepiness, the 99-liner jumped away from his spot on top of the warm body, stuttering out an indistinguishable string of apologies once he realized his embarrassing position. He immediately noticed the absence of warmth and curled into himself a little bit, as if his body was subconsciously trying to compensate for the lack of Eunwoo hyung’s presence. He lowered his head and willed himself not to blush in case of further embarrassment.

Now that he is out of the overwhelming proximity of Eunwoo hyung, Rocky thought that he might have been seeing something as an indecipherable emotion passed through the other’s eyes, but the next second he was up and moving for the car doors, not wanting to venture into uncharted territory.

What he missed though, was the fond half-smile on Eunwoo’s face as he watched his dongsaeng hurry out of the car door, nearly crashing into Bin who was right outside. If he had peeked back for a few seconds more, Rocky would have gotten a slightly disappointed yet not too upset expression on his hyung’s lovely features, lasting only moments more before dissolving into a more politely cheerful look as he, too, moved to greet the staff on site.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey you. Thanks for reading my mostly self-indulgent fic. Kudos are appreciated, and constructive criticism is always welcome because English is definitely not my first language. Until we meet again~


	2. Epiphany

Seeing Eunwoo hyung dressed in a black oversized t-shirt and washed-out jeans is hard enough, but it was absolute torture when he was all dolled up and ready for photo shoots decked in a stylish, Milan-ready outfit that accentuated his mile-long legs. On set, he is the epitome of chic postures and sultry eyes, capable of sending a blush to the cheeks of the second-youngest member if the latter dared to stare for too long. Although he knew that all this was for show and definitely didn’t represent the real Eunwoo hyung, he couldn’t help but also feel attracted to this more provocative side of his normally reserved hyung. It is so desperately uncharacteristic of Rocky that he nearly did a doubletake when he realized his not-so-innocent intentions for his Eunwoo hyung.

Rocky swallowed dryly. This wasn’t how he was supposed to feel during his “professional hours” like working on a new choreo or in this case, during a magazine shoot. He schooled his feature to his best, hoping no one noticed the temporary lapse of judgment in his mind. Deciding to turn his mind to something unrelated for a while, he got on YouTube intending to watch something funny to pass the time until his solo shoot. However, apparently the universe wanted to play a sick joke on him when he saw the recommended clip with his beaming face on the cover with the title “Chaky Cute Moments”. Curious as to see what exactly “Chaky” was, he tapped on the video without further hesitation, assuming that it was yet another meme compilation from his fans, and settled himself in for a silly, ten-minute entertainment.

He cannot be more wrong in his assessment.

At first, he saw himself grinning from ear to ear, nodding to himself while repeating “Rocky Swag”. He smiled at that. Maybe he had somehow outgrown the nickname he gave himself years ago, but it seemed that the fans would always have fond memories of his more playful past. His eyes widened as a sleepy Eunwoo came into focus, clearly faux annoyed at his overly excited dongsaeng while softly complying his wish to repeat “Rocky swag”. Back then, Rocky was too caught up in his stage jitters to focus on the other, but now in retrospect, he definitely saw the overly indulgent look on Eunwoo hyung’s face even after he had been rudely disturbed from his rest. The younger version of the visual had chubbier checks then the present Eunwoo hyung, giving him an air of innocence. Not that Eunwoo is less good looking with his recent weight loss, in fact, Rocky was almost sure the other’s perfection cannot be diminished in the slightest, but the younger’s worries about him not eating enough for his body to function properly in the middle of tight group and solo schedules could be much appeased if he would stop dieting. The fond look that the past Eunwoo hyung sent his way just before the clip ended was not lost on present Rocky, and he pondered its meaning as the screen went dark.

The video moved on to another clip of him wearing flower crowns in one of their fanmeetings a couple comebacks ago. His smile only lasted for about 0.5 second before realizing what was to come. He watched in fascinated horror as Eunwoo hyung put his arms around him before kissing him gently on the cheek. Video Rocky had a horrified face on as he burst into the worst fake crying fit in human history, but Rocky remembered having his pulses jump around for minutes after the innocent peck. What’s worse was that he could recall the entire encounter perfectly, down to the smallest details like how Eunwoo hyung’s muscled arms felt around his waist, and the way his breath tickled the younger’s cheeks with tantalizing warmth. 

He quickly paused the clip to catch a much needed breath, shaking his head at how he so easily drifted away in his musings. He wasn’t as good at hiding his affections then, so he had to resort to falsely disgusted faces whenever he would have a more than appropriate amount of skinship with Eunwoo hyung. Now that he had gotten more practice with this matter, he could be in similar situations without kicking up a fuss, instead quietly returning a smile or a side hug for his occasionally clingy hyung.

Double-checking that his impenetrable mask of cool indifference stayed intact on his features, he loosened a breath before continuing. What he should be doing was stop the video before any compromising epiphany infiltrate his peaceful world of ignorance; however, driven by his own morbid sense of curiosity, he unpaused the video and continued on.

The screen brightened to show the backstage of the Japanese tour venue, where Jinjin hyung and Eunwoo hyung lounged comfortably on sofa chairs. The taller quizzed the other on Japanese, simple everyday vocabulary such as “father” and “mother”. True to his reputation as not only the face genius of Astro but also a genius in general, Eunwoo hyung is well-versed in the language enough that he must have crammed his studies in his back-to-back schedules, which seemed next to impossible in Rocky’s opinion.

That was yet another small fact that made Rocky love him even more: He is always striving to do better, and even though he won millions of adoring fans with his looks alone, he didn’t let his face become who he was or what he stood for. Even with his ever-growing fame as the Cha Eunwoo, the media heartthrob and budding actor, he remained humble and down to earth almost to the point of being mistaken as shy. He did everything to raise recognition for his group, and even when he was scorned by haters just for being an idol turned actor, he persevered with no complaints.

Eunwoo hyung was more than just a pretty face. He had the voice of an angel that never seemed to be meant for mere humans. He was passionate, loyal, hard-working, good-natured, a caring hyung and obedient dongsaeng, and generally the most amazing person anyone can hope for as a friend. Oh god, he was embarrassing himself with his mushy thoughts. But his hyung deserved the world, and no one can tell him otherwise. 

His attention returned to the scene currently unfolding in front of him and saw himself creeping towards the pair. He remembered being in a playful mood then, and to this day he still couldn’t fathom how bold he had been to be so confident around his crush. Now that he relived the moment again some years later, he could finally appreciate how adorably flustered Eunwoo hyung looked when the sensitive skin on the back of his neck was met with the tickling breath of his second dongsaeng, causing him to squirm away with a slight shiver. The action was caught on camera, but Rocky doubted that it was the sole reason the visual was so embarrassed, not when himself, close enough that he could detect his every single sound and movement, heard a soft, breathy moan from the back of the older’s throat at that time.

The sound was by no means an overly provocative one, but the way Eunwoo hyung’s wide eyes met his dark brown orbs might suggest otherwise. Both of them tried to play it off by resuming their teasing and bantering, but the offhand comment from Jinjin hyung ruined whatever chance they had to regain some semblance of calm. “Come on, it’s because he likes you.” Both of the speechless boys met the eyes of the knowing older rapper. Maybe Astro’s leader knew a tad too much, because it was a fact that past Rocky wasn’t ready to face, even when his heart urged him to take Eunwoo hyung’s cheek in his hand and taste his slightly parted lips.

The video kept playing, displaying photo after photo of Rocky staring blatantly at his hyung in dozens of different venues before the final ending credits rolled, ending the deceptively short ten-minute video. However, Rocky stayed seated in silence, staring at the dark screen with unseeing eyes. Apparently, fans are more perceptive than we give them credit for.

In part, he was surprised that they found so much evidence in the spam of four years after their debut, and here he thought that he hid it so well, he chuckled ruefully while thinking. But the larger part of him was slightly anxious, unable to imagine what Eunwoo hyung’s reaction would be if he ever found out. Would he be horrified and lash out? No, probably not, seeing as his gentle temperament had almost never failed in the years he had been with the group. But even if he took it well and let him down easy, it would probably be so awkward that neither of them could ever be in the same room again, let alone trying to promote together.

However, an inner voice nagged him to take action, be it to confess or to get rid of his lingering affections, instead of dancing around his own feelings and ultimately screw up something too precious to be repaired. He would be inclined to do so, if only he wasn’t so confused about everything.

A loud call from the set manager alerted him to his turn for the solo shoot, and, with a slightly aggressive shake of his head, he dislodged his concerns and insecurity, put on his “idol persona”, and strode confidently ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second update? Already? o-O  
> Although my schedules are still kicking my butt, this is the result of my absolutely superb procrastinating skills. The next one may not have so much luck, but we'll see.  
> Still, kudos are appreciated and comments are welcome for constructive criticism or to just scream with me about how cute Rocky and the rest of Astro are. Stay safe from the corona virus and see you next time!


End file.
